


Red Carnations

by JulianAlbertsCat (AdhdBarryAllen)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 3x09 "The Present", Christmas, First Kiss, Fix-It, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 02:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8779171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdhdBarryAllen/pseuds/JulianAlbertsCat
Summary: Barry invites Julian over to the West's for Christmas.(A different route for the ending of 3x09 "The Present")





	

**Author's Note:**

> WOW CAN YOU BELIEVE BARRY AND JULIAN ARE IN LOVE  
> I saw the scene with Caitlin and Julian and of course I thought "That should be Barry" so I fixed it.  
> Sorry for directly quoting the lines from the episode, I can understand how some might find it annoying. I tried not to if I could.

“Guys, Christmas time is here, we need a little Christmas!” HR declared. “Who’s with me?”

“He’s right,” Barry decided. “It’s Christmas, we should be together.”

Team Flash nodded in agreement, despite the fact that just moments ago, none of them had felt much like celebrating.

Barry was glad their Christmas plans weren’t canceled, and was about to jump in on the discussion of their renewed Christmas spirit, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Julian sneaking away. He removed his arm from around Iris, told her he would be back in a moment, then went after the scientist.

“Hey, where are you going?” Barry called after him as Julian walked briskly down the long hallway. Julian turned around, looking utterly exhausted and somehow still perfect.

“Do… Do you have Christmas plans?” Barry asked, his voice soft and laced with kindness, maybe concern.

Julian looked at him with confusion. “Why do you care, Allen? We might have just faced a speed god together, but last I checked, we aren’t friends.”

“Joe and, well, everyone else are having a Christmas get-together. After what you’ve been through, you shouldn’t be alone.”

He averted his eyes. “I actually prefer to be alone on Christmas.”

As Julian walked away, Barry’s heart sank. He had sincerely thought Julian would say yes to his invitation. He hadn’t offered out of pity. Julian was smart, witty, a bit of an asshole, and all together very good-looking. Barry wanted to know him, but Julian was shrouded in so many walls and just when it seemed like they were getting somewhere, he shut Barry out again.

Barry only wanted to spend more time with the man, and he had hoped that inviting Julian would provide a much-needed sense of normalcy after what he had just been through. But like Julian had said, they weren’t friends, and it was starting to feel like they never would be.

+++

Everyone was gathered at Joe’s house, egg nog in hand and Wally clutching his new suit proudly when there was an unexpected knock at the door.

“It’s the police!” HR whispered drunkenly.

“It’s not the police,” Barry said, rolling his eyes as he went to get the door. “We’re the police.”

He opened the door, surprised to find a drenched Julian Albert at the doorstep, a bouquet of flowers in hand.

“Oh, hey, Julian,” he greeted, somewhat in shock. Julian had seemed fairly adamant on not coming, and Barry hadn’t expected him to change his mind. Julian was, after all, ridiculously stubborn. And attractive. But that wasn’t the point. He took Julian’s umbrella and let him inside, then took a moment to take in the man in front of him.

And damn, Julian sure did clean up nice. His wore a full suit that must have been tailored if the way it accented his body was any indication. He was a bit overdressed for the occasion, but Barry was _definitely_ not complaining.

“After everything that happened, being alone felt a bit… lonely, so…” Julian explained. Julian was blushing, Barry noticed with amusement. He thrust the flowers at Barry. “These are for you. I mean- the house. They’re for everyone. Baby’s breath and carnations.”

Barry felt his face flush as well. “Oh, uh, thank you. These are really nice, I’ll just place them over here…” he turned away, moving to put the flowers on the table when Julian grabbed his arm.

“There’s one more thing,” he said, shoving an envelope into Barry’s hands.

“What’s this?” Barry asked, opening it.

“I spoke to Captain Singh,” Julian began. “He hadn’t put through your resignation paperwork yet, so…” Barry was already beaming at him, and Julian found that smile to be infectious. “If you’d like your old lab back… or, I mean, like to share it again…”

He trailed off, staring at Barry eagerly. The two stared at each other for a moment before finally, Barry pressed his lips to Julian’s. It was soft and quick, and full of all the feelings they hadn’t seemed to be able to convey up until this moment. Barry pulled away swiftly, face as red as the carnations in his hand.

“You… do you like me?” Julian asked, barely a whisper.

“God, yes,” Barry replied before kissing him again.

This kiss was just as good as the last, but thankfully much longer. Julian slung his arms around Barry’s neck, running a hand through his soft hair. He had been so _stubborn_ , unwilling to see that this was right in front of him. He could have this. Alchemy no longer haunted him. He was _free._ And now, he had all the time in the world to explore this thing with Barry.

When they finally separated, they were both breathing hard and grinning like a pair of idiots. “Shall we?” Julian offered, lacing his fingers through Barry’s.

“We shall,” Barry replied in the worst British accent Julian had ever heard.

It was a wonderful Christmas after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright bUT DID YOU SEE THAT THE FLOWERS IN JULIAN'S CORSAGE WERE PROBABLY BABY'S BREATH AND SOMETHING ELSE??? YOU KNOW WHAT BABY'S BREATH MEANS??? LONG LASTING LOVE AND PURE EMOTION!! And dark red carnations represent deep love and affection. I'm 86% sure that was which flowers Julian was wearing at the end of the episode and if that's not gay, I'm a heterosexual.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Come say hi on [tungle](http://www.adhd-barry-allen.tumblr.com)!


End file.
